Sole for ski boots



Jan. 20, 1970 F. HERUNTER 3,490,155

SOLE FOR SKI BOOTS Filed April l5. 1968 v 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 llcl lib F 1INVENTOR FQIQNZ 58 UN '51? TTORNEY$ Jan. 20, 1970 F. HERUNTER 3,490;1-55

SOLE FOR SKI BOOTS Filed April 15. 1968 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 United StatesPatent U.S. Cl. 36-2.5 11 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sole forski boots is described having a substantially rectangular base membernarrower than the width of the ski boot upper and attached to the lowerportion of the ski boot upper. The substantially rectangular base memberis defined by two parallel relatively shorter edges forming the frontand rear edges of the base member and relatively longer edges formingthe lateral edges of the base member. In a first preferred embodimentthe width of the front and rear edges are equal to or less than thewidth of a narrower standard width ski. In a second preferred embodimentthe width of the front edge is less than the width of the narrowerstandard width ski and the width of the rear edge is equal to the widthof the narrower standard width ski. The inner lateral edge of the basemember extends from the front edge to the rear edge in a straight line.The outer lateral edge forms a line extending from the front edgerearwardly and outwardly of the boot and a second line extending fromthe rear edge forwardly and outwardly of the boot, said lines convergingat a point substantially in the region of the ball of the foot. TheWidth of the base member at the point where these lines converge isequal to or greater than the width of a wider standard width ski.

There are known soles for ski boots, which have a narrower base than theshoe and have straight edges. These straight edges improve the guidanceof the ski and cause a minimum of contact with the snow, thus avoidingthe braking action of the sole in the snow. Within the known soles ofthis type, the edges which limit the base are parallel to each other, sothat the base has an elongated rectangular shape. There are two standardwidths of skis. Up to a certain length the skis have a standard width of65 mm. and over this length they have a standard width of 70 mm. But thelength of the ski does not depend on the shoe size, but it ratherdepends on the height of the skier, his weight and talent. It is thusimpossible to predestinate for which width of ski the ski boot is to be.Thus the width of the base of the boot sole had to be adapted to thelower standard Width, because otherwise the sole would protrude over theski, which is a disadvantage. However, when using the broader ski withthe narrow sole base the guidance of the ski is deteriorated.

The object of this invention is to avoid these disadvantages. Theinvention consists essentially in providing the sole base with a breakat the outer edge and being straight at the inner edge, in such a mannerhaving the greatest width in the region of the ball of the foot. It hasbeen proved that the guidance of the ski is mainly done with the inneredge of the ski. For this reason it is important that the inner top edgeof the ski aligns with the inner edge of the sole base. This is why theinner edge of the sole base is straight. On the outer edge it is notnecessary for the sole and the ski to be in alignment, but it is enoughif use is made of the entire supporting width. In consideration ofhaving a forward-leaning posture when skiing, most of the weight of thebody is concentrated in the region of the ball of the foot, andaccording to this invention the supporting width provided is greatestthere. By the angular shape of the outer edge confining the sole base inthe region of the ball a snow-plow-like shape is created by which thedisturbances caused by the side base sections protruding over the skiedge are eliminated. The invention has also the advantage of giving agreater stability when walking without skis because of its broadersupporting area. According to a preferred embodiment of this inventionthe front end width of the sole and the back end width of the sole areas wide or smaller than the smaller standard ski width (which is mm.)and the width at the break is as great or greater than the greaterstandard ski width (which is mm.). Thus, when using skis of greaterstandard width the support is granted by the WhOle width of the ski,while when using skis of the smaller standard width only asnow-plow-like part of the sole base protrudes over the ski which isadmissible.

It is an essential feature that the outer edge of the sole is broken.There can also be two breaks. In this case the greatest width of the skistretches along a short distance along which the outer edge of the solebase is parallel with the inner edge of the sole base. In this case itis necessary, however, that the slanted edges enclose a greater anglewith the longitudinal direction, even though this does not bring anyadvantage, because it is sufficient when the greater supporting widthoccurs just in one cross-section. Therefore, the sole base according tothe invention is confined at its outer edge by two straight lines whichmeet in an angle at about the ball of the foot.

The inventive sole can be fabricated as an outer sole having the contouraccording to the invention and can be fixed to an intermediate sole ofthe ski boot by means of an adhesive. In that case the intermediatesole, too, shows the contour of the inventive sole. However, theinventive sole can also be made of one piece with the lower section ofthe upper or with a part of it. This is appropriate e.g. for ski bootsof plastic or rubber. According to the invention it is also possiblethat the sole is formed unitary with the walls of a trough-like spaceenclosing the lower part of the upper on all sides, the upper beingpinched (pulled) on the last using an insole. In this manner it ispossible, to use any sort of quilt upper of leather or plastic and toadapt the shape of the shoe to the shape of a foot, still having theadvantage of the inventive sole. Thus, the part of the foot or theupper, respectively, extending over the sole can be supported by thespace in which the lower part of the upper is positioned. According tothe invention, it is also possible to form the inventive sole by anelevated middle zone of an outer sole adhesively fixable to theintermediate sole of a ski boot, the outer sole in the region of themiddle zone being 1 /2 to 3 times thicker than in the border zones.

Consequently, ski boots provided with an intermediate sole havingconventionally the width of the foot can also be equipped with theinventive sole.

In the accompanying drawings embodiments of the invention are shown byway of examples.

FIG. 1 shows schematically the shape of the sole, FIG. 2 is a view ofthe sole, FIG. 3 shows the cross-section along the line IIIIII of FIG. 2and FIG. 4 shows a section through the profile of the sole along theline IVIV of FIG. 2. FIG. shows a cross-section through a ski bootprovided with the inventive sole along the line V-V of FIG. 6, which inturn shows a longitudinal section through a ski boot along the lineVI-VI of FIG. 5. FIG. 7 shows a side view of the ski boot according toFIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 8 illustrates a cross section of a modification ofthe preferred embodiment shown in FIG. 2, said cross section being takenalong a line corresponding to the line IIIIII in FIG. '2.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1 to 3, the inventive sole comprises a base 2which is narrower than the shoe 3. At the inner side of the foot 4 thebase is confined by a straight edge 5, and at the outer side of the foot6 it is confined by broken edges 7 and 8 which meet in the region of theball in a point 9. At this point the base 2 is widest, and in theembodiment shown in the drawing this width equals the bigger standardwidth a of skis. This standard Width, which is shown in FIG. 1, is 70mm. In the point 9 the base protrudes beyond the smaller standard widthof the ski, significated by b. The shoe 3 fits, as FIG. 1 shows, 50 inthe binding that the inner edge 5 aligns with the dash-dotted line,which represents the inner ski edge 10. When using the bigger standardski width, the break in the outer sole base edge 9 cuts olI with theouter edge of the ski 11A. When using the smaller standard width of skithe breaking point 9 extends beyond the outer ski edge 11b.Consequently, the whole supporting sole base width is made use of whenthe bigger standard ski width a is used whilst when using the smallerstandard ski width b the edge 7 acts snow-plow-like.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 2 the width c at the back end of thesole 12 corresponds to the smaller standard ski width and the width a atthe front end is smaller than this standard ski width. In this way,protruding of the front end of the boot sole base beyond the smallerstandard ski width is prevented, even in case of incorrect fit in thebindings. It is also taken into account that there is hardly any burdenon the toes and that the smaller width fits better to the foot.

Parallel to the edges there is an endless groove 14 which together withfishbone-like grooves 15, 36 gives more security against skidding.

In the embodiment according to FIGS. 5, 6 and 7 the sole 1 is formed inone piece with the walls 20 of a cavity 16 which embrace the lower partof the upper 17 of the ski boot 3. The upper 17 is pinched over the lastusing an insole 18. The bottom wall 19 of the cavity is thicker than thewalls 20 extending upwardly so that the bottom wall 19 supports theupper 17 and thus the foot,

whilst the thinner walls 20 engage the upper 17 elastically. Thecross-section of these walls 20 tapers towards the upper rim 21. In theregion 22 of the forefoot and in the region 23 of the ankle the upperrim 21 of the walls is extended upwardly so that it lies in equidistancefrom the insole. There, the top of the cavity 16 is about mm. to mm.higher than the bottom thereof. In the region of the heel the wall 24 isextended upwardly so that it forms a heel pad. 25 is an insertionmember, e.g. of plywood or similar material, which stiffens the sole 1and lessens its weight.

When manufacturing, the upper 17 put together with the insole 18 overthe shoe last together with the shoe last is connected to a mouldconfining the outer surface of the sole 1 and the cavity 16. Theinsertion member 25 is laid in, and plastic is sprayed into the mould.The upper thus forming part of the mould, is contacted by the plasticsprayed into the mould so that after hardening of the plastic the sole 1and the walls of the cavity 16 are fixed to upper 17 and the insole 18.For better anchorage there are recesses 26 in the insole 18, into whichthe plastic enters. As is shown in FIG. 5, these recesses may beenlarged at the tops 27 thereof so that the protrusions formed by theplastic of the sole 1 and the bottom wall of the cavity 16 firmlyengages the recesses 26.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 8, the inventive sole 1 isconstituted by an elevated middle zone of an outer sole which can beahesively fixed to an intermediate sole of a ski boot 3. This outer solecomprises border zones 28 extending from the middle zone, the borderzones corresponding to the shape of the ski boot. Consequently, skiboots having a conventional intermediate sole can be equipped with theinventive sole. The border zones 28 have a thickness a which is about 4mm. to 5 mm. and the middle zone has a thickness b. The thickness at isabout /s through or about half of the thickness b of the middle zone.This sole, too, has grooves 14, 15, 36 for security against skidding.

What I claim is:

1. A sole for a ski boot comprising a substantially rectangular basemember of a width narrower than the upper of said boot and meansattaching said base member to said upper, said base member being definedby two parallel relatively shorter edges forming the front and rearedges of said base member, respectively, the lengths of said front andrear edges being equal to or smaller than the width of a narrowerstandard width ski, an inner lateral edge forming a straight linelongitudinally of said boot extending from said front edge to said rearedge and an outer lateral edge forming a line extending rearwardly ofsaid front edge and outwardly of said boot and a line extendingforwardly of said rear edge and outwardly of said boot, said linesconverging at a point intermediate the length of said base member, thewidth of said base member at said point of convergence of said linebeing equal to or greater than the width of a wider standard width ski.

2. The ski boot sole defined in claim 1 wherein said point ofconvergence of said line formed by said outer lateral edge coincidessubstantially with the region of said upper which will be adjacent theball of a human foot when said ski boot is fitted thereon.

3. The ski boot sole defined in claim 1 wherein the length of said frontedge of said base member is less than the width of a narrower standardwidth ski and the length of the rear edge of said base member is equalto the width of a narrower standard width ski.

4. The ski boot sole defined in claim 1 wherein said means forattachment is integral with a lower portion of said upper of said skiboot and is integral with said base member.

5. The ski boot sole defined in claim 1 wherein said means forattachment comprises means defining a cavity extending upwardly of saidbase member, said means defining a cavity being adapted to substantiallyencircle and grasp the lower portion of said upper of said ski boot andan insole clamping said lower portion of said upper to said base member.

6. The ski boot sole defined in claim 5 wherein said means forattachment includes a relatively stiff member extending longitudinallyof said sole within said means for attachment for stiffening said soleand providing additional support for the human foot.

7. The ski boot sole defined in claim 5 wherein the portion of said basemeans defining a cavity adjacent the forward portion of said boot andthe portion of said means defining a cavity adjacent the portion of saidboot which will be adjacent the human ankle are of a greater height thanthe remainder of said means defining a cavity.

8. The ski boot sole defined in claim 1 wherein said means forattachment is a substantially flat rectangular member integral with saidbase member and of a width greater than said base member, said flatrectangular member being adapted to be adhesively attachable to anintermediate sole of said ski boot.

9. The ski boot sole defined in claim 8 wherein the thickness of saidfiat rectangular member and said base member combined is in a range from1 /2 times to 3 times greater than the thickness of said fiatrectangular member alone.

5 6 10. The ski boot sole defined in claim 8 wherein said ReferencesCited front edge of said base member is defined by a straight UNITEDSTATES PATENTS line and the rear edge of said base member is defined byD 203 805 2/1966 W 1 an arcuate line conforming to the rounding oftheheel 2038O6 2/ 196 322; 1 boot 5 D. 212,521 10/1968 Herunter D2 23011. The ski boot sole defined in claim 8 wherein said base memberincludes a groove defined in the surface of 3239952 3/1966 Lange at saidbase member away from said boot upper, said groove ALFRED GUEST, PrimaryExaminer extending continuously parallel said front and rear edges andsaid lateral edges of said base member and spaced 10 U5, C1, X.Rinwardly of said edges. 36-32

